The North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management said it will not be sending medication down to the more than 3,000 illegal miners said to be still underground at the Stilfontein mine shaft.
On Wednesday, the task team led by North West Community Safety MEC Wessels Morweng began the first phase of the retrieval operation to bring illegal miners to the surface.
This comes after reports indicate that many miners have remained underground due to fears of arrest. With significant numbers believed to be trapped in the recently rehabilitated Shaft 11, the urgency of the situation has reached a critical point as safety teams work diligently to assess the conditions and engage with those who have not yet emerged.
On Tuesday, the mine rescue team conducted evaluations of the shaft to ensure that appropriate equipment was in place for the operation.
Notably, some media reports have suggested that advanced technology might be required to accurately ascertain how many miners remain underground.
Speaking to The Star, provincial spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, Charles Matlou, provided insights into the ongoing rescue efforts, saying the rescue efforts are still at their earliest stage amid reports that the technical team spent most of Wednesday clearing the area.
“We do not have the numbers of how many miners are still underground as this is a police matter. However, I can confirm that approximately 1,800 have come out so far,” Matlou stated.
He added that those who are in need of medical attention are being provided with care while those in good health are being processed and arrested for their illegal activities.
The ongoing operation has coincided with heated discussions surrounding the provision of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for illegal miners.
Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has fiercely dismissed recent claims suggesting that ARVs could be sent to those trapped underground.
“It would be practically impossible to send medication without the proper prescriptions and examinations,” Motsoaledi emphasised, stressing that ARVs require a doctor’s oversight and cannot simply be dispensed like over-the-counter medications.
The tension escalated following a note written in isiZulu by the illegal miners, pleading for ARV access: “Sicela ama ARVs plz, abantu bayawadinga ngapha. Siyacela bandla,” which translates to a request for ARV pills as they reportedly needed the medication.
Despite the humanitarian plea, Motsoaledi reiterated the complexities involved in dispensing such medical treatments under the current circumstances.
In tandem with the rescue operation, the North West Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management, chaired by Freddy Sonakile, expressed deep concern over the illegal mining crisis.
“The focus must remain on retrieving those individuals from the mine shaft and blocking all escape routes to ensure they face the full might of the law,” Sonakile remarked.
According to an affidavit issued to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on behalf of the minister of mineral resources, there is no need for the illegal miners to wait for rescue operations to intervene, as the majority of the miners can, in the meantime, exit safely at another mine shaft which has been opened.
Both the minister and the police have maintained that these miners are not trapped as those who have opted not to exit the mine are simply still there because they fear being arrested.
Jose Melembe, principal inspector of mines in the North West region, also denied in an affidavit made on behalf of the minister’s office that the police blocked the entrance so that miners could not surface. “The police have never blocked any entrance to the mine, but instead what has been confiscated are explosives, firearms, alcohol, and generators.”
The affidavits by the police and minister were handed to court following an application in which the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution approached the court for an urgent order to assist the miners who were still underground.
On Saturday, Judge Brenda Neukircher ordered that pending finalisation of the application, the mineshaft must be unblocked and may not be locked by any person or institution, whether government or private.“
Any miners trapped in the mine shaft shall be permitted to exit. No non-emergency personnel may enter the mineshaft,” Judge Neukircher ordered.
On Tuesday, the matter returned to court for the respondents to make their representations with Judge Neukircher having stood the matter down until on Thursday so that she could read through the answering affidavit and for the applicants to reply to it.
Spokesperson for the SAPS, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, slammed suggestions that the illegal zama zamas remaining underground are trapped, adding that what is happening underground at the disused mine is pure criminality.
“The illegal miners are not trapped. They are refusing to go out because they are avoiding arrest. We have allowed a limited supply of porridge and water so they regain their strength and surface. They sent us a letter on Saturday requesting food and nowhere in that letter did they say they are trapped,” she said. | Additional reporting by Zelda Venter
The Star